Everyday environments and activities of children and teachers in Swedish preschools

The study investigates how Swedish kindergarten teachers and children spend their time in kindergarten, with a particular focus on how environments and activities affect children’s engagement and learning. The research questions are: 1) What characterises children’s kindergarten environment and activities? 2) Is there a significant difference in children’s engagement in free play indoors versus outdoors? (3 What characterises kindergarten teachers’ environment and activities?

The results showed that free play indoors and outdoors were the main activities. The children interacted just as much with other children as they did with the adults. The framework of play was primarily determined by non-pretend play, construction, art, and music, followed by pretend play and academic content. The children’s engagement was significantly higher in free play indoors compared to outdoors. The adults engaged in varied tasks, but their central task was to manage the group of children. They were usually near small groups of children, or alone and mostly talked to or listened to individual children.

Systematic observations of children and teachers were carried out in 78 Swedish kindergarten units. The observations included how children and adults spent their time both indoors and outdoors, what kind of activities they participated in, and who they communicated with. The data collection included both direct observations and use of registration tools such as Child Observation in Preschool (COP) and Teacher Observation in Preschool (TOP). The main focus was on free play and how this affects children’s engagement. A total of 925 children, between the ages of one and five, and 302 kindergarten employees were observed.

Åström, F., Björck-Åkesson, E., Sjöman, M., & Granlund, M. (2022). Everyday environments and activities of children and teachers in Swedish preschools. Early Child Development and Care, 192(2), 187–202.

Online year: 2020

Issue year: 2022

Review year: 2022